spotting scopes?

i was looking around at spotting scopes and i don't get it? one is 22-66-80 another is 20-60-60 another is25-125-88 and the last is 15-40-50 what does this mean? which one would be the best ????????????

Beth-
it all depends on how far away you want to see bullet holes and how much you are willing to spend.
Like....life in general mostly....

My gun club has only a 200 yard rifle range and I have no problem seeing .30 cal. holes at 200 yards and .22 cal. holes at 100 yards using my Bushnell Spacemaster 15-45x60. (Just like a rifle scope...magnififcation adjustable through 15-45 times and a 60mm objective lens.)

You can spend thousands, literally, on a spotting scope and I have looked through a few of those and believe me...they are a whole different breed.

But for regular folks back on earth like us a Bushnell or Burris does the job and more just fine.

My Bushnell has for some reason doubled in price but I use Burris rifle scopes and I bet this Burris spotting scope would fill your needs just fine-

Yeah, mfp28 called it. The one in his picture is 20 power at the weak end, and adjustable to 60 power at the high end. The "x60" refers to the diameter of the "looking out of" lens (as opposed to the "looking into" lens), in millimeters.

The bigger the last number is, the larger diameter, so the more light comes in, so the easier it is to see little stuff and/or far away stuff. Like with a rifle scope. Used to was the standard scope was "4x32" or "3-9x32". 32mm lens. Now, pretty much, the standard is 40mm, and many are 50mm, and I think I've seen some 60mm. They let in more light, so you can see better.

The first two numbers are the magnification. 20-60 means something looks from 20 times closer to 60 times closer.

What you need depends on how far you are shooting, how big a bullet you are shooting, and, of course, how deep your pockets are. Let's assume, for example, that you are shooting a 22, and you can clearly see 22 bulletholes at 20 feet. You are shooting at 100 yards. 100 yards is 15 times as far away as 20 feet. So for that use, a 15-power scope would be strong enough. Shooting at 200? Now you need a 30-power scope. Can only see the holes at ten feet, and you're shooting at 200 yards? You need a 60-power scope.

One of my huntin buddies showed up a few years back with a $1700 spotting scope, swaroski or however ya spell it. Now that was way higher priced than any I could ever afford, but it was well worth it. I sat out on a rock up on our summit checking out 40-50 caribou sunnin themselves about 1500 yards out, way down below me, too cool. No joke, I could count hairs I think. I only use binos, or crank up the leupolds; but if I ever considered a spotting scope, would have to have the wifey pissed at me at what I paid for it. Check out the high end scopes. My buddy got a deal from sportsmans, they lowered price by 400 bucks.

I can tell you that they are worth their weight in gold if the eyes are not what they used to be. I went to the the range yesterday to sight in a new set of back up sights for my AR. It was going to be a quick trip cause I only took the one rifle with me. I took every thing I needed EXCEPT the spotting scope. I started out shooting at 50 yards to see where I was hitting. Even at 50 yards, I could not see the bullet holes so I had to walk to the target every few shots to look. I would fire 3 to 5 shots and walk to the target. What a pain in the a$$, I probably made 30 trips to the target. When I got it hitting where I wanted it, I moved to the 100 yard target and after three times of walking to that target, I finally decided that my groups were good enough.

The point of my story is that IF I had my scope with me, I could have stayed at the shooting bench and would have never had to leave it to check the targets. I learned that next time I will put the scope in the car before any thing else.

Spotting scopes are great things, and mine normally makes the trip to Georgia, when I go visit the kids.

This trip though, I had not planned on going shooting, so did not bring accessories. This movie is Lobita, the oldest granddaughter, but notice the distinguished older gentleman in the background, that is taking 40-forevers to make that shot. See what I was using for a spotting scope? Cheap 8x20 binoculars. Anything is better than nothing.

That look slike a pretty good deal.
One thing I did see anyone mention to Beth are tripods. Some of the lower priced scopes don't have a tripod, and at the kind of magnification powers being used, it seems it would be next to impossible to hold it steady long enough to be able to see.

They come with that low tripod, so you can sit it on the bench beside you, or if you are shooting prone it is as low to the ground as you are. But, yes, it's the universal thread, so any camera tripod will fit it. Also those monopods that clamp to your car window.

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